Whitehouse Weekly Bulletin 229

Friday 28th April 2023

Message from Mrs Hall

Have you changed your phone number or moved house?

If so, please ensure the School Office are updated as soon as possible by phoning 01473 741249 or via the Arbor app. In addition, please remember that good attendance at school is paramount in ensuring your child reaches their full potential. Please can we ask that the children attend school regularly and on time. If you are experiencing any problems getting your child to school, please speak to our attendance officer, Mrs Calver or Mrs Gotts our Pastoral and Family Engagement Lead who will be happy to help. I hope you have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend.

Attendance for the previous week:

Class with the best attendance: Lizards (97.39%)

Nursery Spaces - September

We are pleased to let you know that we will have some spaces in our popular Nursery from September 2023.  We offer spaces for either 15 hours a week or 30 hours a week for those who have a 30-hour code (or who wish to pay for the extra hours).  We accept children from the term after their 3^rd birthday.  Timings for our sessions are: Morning: 8.30am to 11.30am or Afternoon: 12.15pm to 3.15pm

If you would like more information please contact the school office and ask to speak to Miss Sara McCullum who will be able to assist. 

Supporting Your Child’s Mental Health

Would you like to be able to offer your child more support for their mental health?  There are a number of virtual workshops you can access which aim to help parents/carers to know how to offer support and address these issues with your child.  Topics include ‘Supporting our Young People Manage Big Feelings’ and ‘Supporting our Young People with Low Mood.’  Please see the following link for further information: 

https://suffolklearning.com/suffolk-headlines-tuesday-25-april-2023/supporting-young-peoples-mental-health-free-parent-and-carer-workshops-coming-may-2023/

Dinner Money Reminder

Can we please ask that ALL dinner money debt is cleared as a matter of urgency.  It is important that all dinner money is paid in advance.  Thank you for your assistance.

Awards

EYFS:

Key Stage 1:

Lower Key Stage 2:

Upper Key Stage 2:

Purple Man Reading Competition

Well done to the winners of the Purple Man competition for last week (a competition that rewards classes with the highest average reading minutes across KS2). 

Year 2 – Easton Farm Park

Last week Year 2 had a lovely day at Easton Farm Park, to investigate their current Enquiry Question: Where does our food come from?  On arrival, the children enjoyed being lunch detectives and asked some great questions to establish how food gets from farms to our plates. 

The adventures then continued with a bumpy tractor ride, with the only noise louder than the tractor’s engine being the sounds of the children giggling, laughing and cheering!  The group then made their way quietly into the sheep barn, where the children were able to have a cuddle with a beautiful little lamb.  Even though Miss Bias wanted to bring one back to school to keep as a class pet, the farmer was eventually able to return the little lamb to his mother!

After a well-earned lunch break, the children enjoyed a fantastic tour of the rest of the farm and finally a play on the playground and bouncy pillow. A number of other farm visitors commented on how well behaved our children were, which was a pleasure to hear.   Well done Year 2.

King Charles Coronation

On Friday 5^th May 2023, we will be celebrating King Charles III Coronation.  Please note this day will be a non-uniform day and we would ask the children come in red, white and blue to help us celebrate this special occasion. 

Please note we will be accepting donations (suggested amount £1.00) which we will be donating to one of the Kings favourite charities.

Please note we will also be having a special Royal Menu on this day as detailed below:

Hot Dinner:  Chicken Royale (Chicken burger) or Quorn Royale (Quorn Burger) served with King Charles Chips, and Jewel in the Crown Vegetables, followed by Coronation Flag Cake.

Pick and Mix: Ham, Cheese or Tuna Roll, Sausage Roll, Carrot Batons, Popcorn, Vanilla Cupcake and Watermelon Wedge.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) Coronation Parent/Carer Session

In order to help celebrate the Coronation of our new monarch, King Charles III, Key Stage 1 would like to invite parents/carers to come into school on Friday 5^th May 2023 at 2.00pm to join their children in some royal craft activities.  Please wear your own finest crown or tiara if you would like to!

Breakfast Club

Our Breakfast Clubs are becoming ever more popular, so can we just remind parents/carers that if you would like a space for your child, it is vital that you book beforehand.  We are only able to take a certain number of children each day and if you arrive without booking and we are full you may be turned away. Spaces can be booked via Arbor or via the school office.  Please also be aware that Breakfast Club is only available for children from Reception upwards, we are unable to take Nursery children.  In addition, can we also remind parents/carers that Breakfast Club spaces must be paid in advance.  If payment is not received your future bookings may be removed and the space given to another child.   If you have any questions please speak to Mrs Gotts, or a member of the office team.

Please note these rules do not apply for our Monday Family Breakfast Clubs, where everyone is welcome each Monday to share a breakfast with their children.  It is free to attend this and booking is not required.

Online Safety: Fake News and Misinformation

Spotting fake news is becoming increasingly difficult for both adults and children.  To help with this, Internet Matters have put a great guide together, including explanations on trusted sources of information, types of fake news and even a Find the Fake quiz.  Why not try the quiz at home with your family?  Follow the link to read the guide:

https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/summary-of-types-of-fake-news/

School Photos

A reminder that the School Photographer will be on Tuesday 2^nd May 2023 to take the class photographs.  Please ensure your children are in correct uniform (no PE kit please) so they are looking at their very best.  

Message from our New Librarian

Hello everyone, my name is Mrs Balaam and I am very excited to have joined Whitehouse as the new Librarian. I have to confess when I walked through the doors of your beautiful school on my first day I was feeling more than a little nervous but thanks to the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff and the children I am already beginning to feel at home.  I am proud to say I have completed my first week without getting lost!

I have been very impressed with your beautiful school libraries and the fantastic range of books the children have access to.  It is very clear how important reading is at Whitehouse and I am keen to continue nurturing and developing this further still.  I want everyone to feel comfortable in the libraries and that all the children have a voice to help shape their future developments both in terms of the range of books and the activities on offer.  Most of all, I would love your children to continue to share their ideas, so please do encourage them to come along and see me.

Finally, I would like to pass on some information about our upcoming Book Fair which is taking place on Thursday 11^th May 2023 and Tuesday 16^th May 2023 after school.  There will be an exciting range of well known and new titles on offer which appeal to all.  Parents/carers will be able to pay by scanning a QR code on their phone and paying via the Scholastic website.  More details will be coming out in the next few days.

We will also be having a competition running which will involve the whole school, so please let your child know to keep an eye out for details in the libraries.  The lucky winners will win a book. 

I look forward to getting to know more of your children over the coming weeks and months.

Year 5/6 Boys Football

It has been a little while without a game for the boys’ football, however in recent weeks the boys have again been back in action.  The boys played in two tough away games, playing against top of the league, Britannia Primary School and second in the league, Dale Hall Primary School.  The boys were very excited to take to the pitch again, but knew that both opposition teams would play very attacking football.  Everyone needed to stick to their defensive duties during both games and the boys did just that, working extremely hard to close down the ball and track the runs of the opposition.  The boys also enjoyed their own periods of possession and counter-attacking football, with very pleasing individual and team efforts.  Despite the boys’ efforts unfortunately both games ended in a win for the opposition.  Mr Jordan was extremely pleased with the boy’s efforts and perseverance to keep working hard throughout both games. A special mention goes to Charlie for playing in his first match representing Whitehouse against Dale Hall with a fantastic ‘man of the match’ performance.

U11’s Inclusive Ten Pin Bowling Event

On Wednesday Mr Jordan took six Year 5/6 pupils to Tenpin Ipswich, Martlesham to take part in the U11 Inclusive Ten Pin Bowling Event.  This was the first time that our school has entered this Panathlon event, and the pupils were extremely excited to have the opportunity to participate in this event. It involved each school playing two games of bowling.  The final scores from each pupil from the first game was added together to give the team an overall score.  The scores of each school were then compared to determine which position each school would finish.  The team had an amazing time and were an absolute credit to our school!  As a result of their fantastic bowling skills throughout the two games, the team scored an impressive 2 strikes and 13 spares between them!  Overall the team finished the event in a very respectable 15^th place!  Well done to everyone that took part!

Dates for the Diary

Monday 1^st May 2023 (Bank Holiday) – School Closed

Tuesday 2^nd May 2023 – School Photograph Day (Class Photos)

Friday 5^th May 2023 – Non-Uniform Day (Wear Red, White and Blue)

Friday 5^th May 2023 – Year 1 Parent/Carer Royal Craft Session – 2.00pm

Monday 8^th May 2023 (Bank Holiday) – School Closed

Thursday 11^th May 2023 – Book Fair – 3.15pm

Tuesday 16^th May 2023 – Book Fair – 3.15pm

Thursday 18^th May 2023 – Parent/Carer Sewing Session – Year 4

Thursday 18^th May 2023 – Andy Goldsworthy Outdoor Art Session – Year 1 2.00pm-3.00pm

Friday 26^th May 2023 – PD Day – School Closed for Children

Monday 29^th May 2023 to Friday 2^nd June 2023 – Half Term Holiday

Monday 5^th June 2023 – PD Day – School Closed for Children

Tuesday 6^th June 2023 – Victorian School – Year 4 Squirrels Class

Wednesday 7^th June – Victorian School – Year 4 Foxes Class

Wednesday 7^th June 2023 – Sports Day - EYFS

Thursday 8^th June – Victorian School – Year 4 Hedgehogs Class

Thursday 8^th June 2023 – Sports Day – Years 1, 2 and 3

Friday 9^th June 2023 – Sports Day – Years 4, 5 and 6

Thursday 15^th June 2023 – Easton Farm Park Trip – Year R

Friday 23^rd June 2023 – Whole School SMSC Day

Monday 26^th June 2023 – Mersea Day Trip – Year 6

Tuesday 27^th June 2023 – Mersea Day Trip – Year 6

Wednesday 28^th June 2023 – Transition Morning

Thursday 29^th June 2023 – Transition Morning

Friday 30^th June 2023 – Kentwell Hall – Year 5

Friday 7^th July 2023 – Afternoon Tea for New Reception Intake

Friday 7^th July 2023 – Summer Fair

Monday 17^th July 2023 – Year 6 Production (Cast A)

Tuesday 18^th July 2023 – Year 6 Production (Cast B)

Wednesday 19^th July 2023 – Leavers BBQ

Friday 21^st July 2023 – Leavers Assembly

Friday 21^st July 2023 – Last day of the Summer Term

Monday 24^th July 2023 to Thursday 31^st August 2023 – Summer Holiday

Friday 1^st September 2023 – PD Day – School Closed for Children

Monday 4^th September 2023 – PD Day – School Closed for Children

Tuesday 5^th September 2023 – First day of Autumn Term for Children